I've had visions of the 22B bouncing around in my mind lately. Don't care that the ver. IV can match or better it, that coke-bottle shape is damn sexy. http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/biggrin.gif

So, say you were to develop and add on flared out fenders ala 22B. The wheels then, would be set in a good bit from the outer edge of the fender. What would it take to fill out the fenders w/o adversely affecting the handling of the car?

Say the flares added 2 inches of width to each side. Would mounting a set of, say, 17x9 wheels with a +12 offset work? (I'm just fudging numbers here -- by my really rough calculations, a wheel with that size would have its inner edge in the same spot as a 17x7 +50 (read: no rubbing), yet have its outer edge 2 inches further out). I'm interested in the effects of the size of the wheel and its position relative to stock. This would move the "Josh-Point"(?) outward... I'd expect that steering would feel different, and perhaps the stresses on the components would be greater.

I guess, then, the basic question is: Could the track width be made larger safely through the wheels alone, or is a complete re-do of the suspension necessary?

TIA for your thoughts,

  - Eric
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I believe that they sell those fenders aftermarket and that the front don't take too long but the backs take like a week in a bodyshop or something. $250 fronts and $350 rears, if I remember right.

And yes, I've been having the same things flying through my head, unfortunately I don't have an income as large as I'd like (otherwise I'd already be SC'd) to be able to do it.

The wider wheels/stance would be really nice I imagine... Plus imagine the looks you'd get after that. http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/smile.gif

Well, the 22B has different suspension components that you can get (unless you're rsquire, 'cause he has one). That's NOT to say you can't use different sized wheels (or to say you can, I don't know). But just mentioning that the 22B does in fact have different suspension.

the REAL 22B ones at MRT are like 20k, but MRT has metal replicas...I think, maybe not metal, I heard somewhere...hmm

well, considering the 22b costs over $20k more than the RS...:P

Manhattan Eurosport is offering the 22B kits. It is nowhere near $20K either. The kits aren't made of metal. They are made of fiberglass which explains the low cost. Their kit also requires you do either use spacers which aren't a good idea or wider tires whcih also may not be the best choice. Both methods will alter the cars geometry. I think for the front and rear fenders and side skirts it was like $2K without installation. The rear fenders require you to have the fuel door moved. They also make a new front bumper but honestly I am not big on fiberglass bumpers. The fenders I could do with since I have a slight dent in one of mine. If I find the link to their site I will post it. http://www.eurosportrally.com/index1.html

[This message has been edited by N/A (edited April 05, 2000).]

I think it's the "Dave" point..

the agtermarket stuff has some edges in the shape...
the real thing is smooth... http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/smile.gif anyone tried MRT?

I remember someone was looking into this before. They gave up because it would cost something like $20K to get all the parts you need, suspension, custom body work... If you have that kinda money you could get a real 22b http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/wink.gif

Tony

The $20k figure comes from the fact that you will need a whole new suspension set-up, ie. A-arms, and all of the other stuff that you would need to make the car feel right with the wider wheels. If you want, you could use spacers or just wider wheels......and replace your snapped axles after a few hundred miles http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/wink.gif

Thanks for the answers thus far. I'm aware of the kit(s) available for the Impreza, but as I drive a GT, that is why I made mention of "say you were to develop and add on flared out fenders..." So, not considering any existing body kit, my wonderings are on the suspension.

If you were to mount the 17x9 wheels like I mentioned in my original post, the inner-edge of the wheel (side of the wheel nearest the strut) would be in the same place as the stock wheel, but the outer edge of the wheel (exposed side) would be two inches further out. Would this setup cause one to have to "...replace your snapped axles after a few hundred miles"?

Granted it is just fantasy planning, but I am interested in finding out.

Thx again,

**- Eric
****'98 2.5 GT Wagon - <a href="http://208.9.184.110/MembersList/ViewMemberPics.cfm?MemberID=143" target="_blank">Pics</a> - <a href="http://users.vei.net/lanam/eric/radioflyer.htm" target="_blank">Page</a> -

<small>Edit: Thanks, JaiMak. I beilieve that you are right in that it's the "Dave-point". http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/smile.gif</small>

[This message has been edited by Radio Flyer (edited April 06, 2000).]

I bet those are sweet. I hope they get some pictures soon!

Just to clarify on the $20,000 for the kit, it does not include anything other than the body parts.
Here are the prices piece by piece:

Front Fender Right $2,755.00
Front Fender Left $2,755.00
Rear Fender Cut out Right $4,205.00
Rear Fender Cut out Left $4,205.00
Front Bumper $2,755.00
Rear Bumber $1,595.00
Side Skirt left $914.00
Side Skirt Right $914.00

Grand Total $20,098.00

This does not include the money for the labor involved in mounting the rear fenders (lots of work) and it must be done by a professional.

BTW, MRT does not sale metal copies. The only copy they sale is the front 22B front bumper to fit the standard Impreza body. This information is from an email I got from MRT. I was alos looking into getting the replicas for my car.

Cheers,
Marco

In my honest opinion this is the ultimate rice boy mod and is a sickening waste of money. Just think how quick your car would be if you spent that amount of money. Plus the regular WRXs and Stis look good anyway. Also, using lower offset wheels or spacers will give you some terrible torque steer.

Back to the question. You want to be careful about putting on wider wheels, and changing offset. The position of the center of the contact area has to stay in the same place relative to the suspension. I think that the centroid of the footprint has to be under a particular component of the suspension, but I can't remember what (???pin). Changing steering geometry by large amounts is not a really great idea.

Randy

I know that this is a particularly old post, but for fugg's sake! The Impreza already has a .cd of .38! Does it really need more aerodynamic drag?!

Since you brought up this old post, it's worthy to note that the 22B actually doesn't have anything special done to the suspension (yet another Mike Shields error) and in reality it uses mundane hubcentric wheel spacers (about 25mm thick IIRC).

Now that's good info! Thanks!